Tuks goes through to Varsity Hockey final after digging deep in semi-final against Wits
An equalizing goal in the final seconds of the semi-final and a thrilling battle in the subsequent penalty shootout was required for the Tuks men's hockey team to qualify for the final against Maties.
Monday night’s Varsity Hockey semi-final between Tuks and Wits was a true personification of guts and passion with both teams refusing to accept defeat right to the end.
After the whistle blew for full time the scoreboard at the Tuks Astroturf the score was tied at 6-all.
Tuks was only able to secure a victory during a penalty-shootout which in itself was another suspenseful drama. Steven Paulo secured a Tuks victory with the sixth penalty-goal attempt to set up the final against Maties, who beat the Northwest Pukke in the other semi-final, next Monday in Stellenbosch.
There are not enough adjectives to do justice to the heroics for the players of both teams. Giving up was never an option.
Wits were the first to score. After about 12 minutes they were leading 3-0. Then with pure grit and determination, the Tuks players started to play themselves back in contention. Bradley Sherwood levelled the score with 11 minutes left to play.
The real battle for Astroturf supremacy started with five minutes left on the clock. Sherwood scored during Tuks’s Power Play to give his team a 5-4 lead.
Still, the drama continued. Wits countered during their Power Play to take a 6-5 lead. Many would have thought that was it, it is game over for Tuks. There were literally just seconds left to play.
But somehow miraculously the Tuks players were able to force one last penalty corner with only 11 seconds left.
‘Cometh the hour, cometh the man’ says the proverb. And the Tuks captain, Peabo Lembethe, did not disappoint. When the ball was played to him he whacked it past the Wits goalkeeper to level the scores once again.
“The moment we lined up for the penalty corner I said to myself this is it. Somebody has to come up with something amazing. When the ball was played to me, I realised that it has all boiled down to me. I hit the ball with a drag flick and to my utmost relieve saw it flying past the goalkeeper. It meant that the fight continued,” said Lembethe after the game.
Tuks coach Guy Elliott ascribes his team’s never say die attitude to the influence of Sir Alex Ferguson the former legendary Manchester United coach.
“I call it the Fergus time when we kept on pushing trying to ‘knock down the door’. When Manchester United were at their best they always believed that they can win no matter how many minutes or seconds there were left on the clock. I got the Tuks players to believe the same,” said a relieved Elliot.
Hendrik Kriek who had to stave off the Wits attacks during the penalty shootout refuses to take any credit for his performance.
“I owed it to my teammates to do something special because I was not at my best during the second half. My teammates were tonight’s true heroes; I am just glad that I could play a small part to secure the victory,” Kriek concluded.
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